


Baby Steps

by TriplePirouette



Series: Nobody's Baby [2]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Alternate Universe, Compilation, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:02:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27194177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriplePirouette/pseuds/TriplePirouette
Summary: A series of short one-shots set in the Nobody's Baby Universe. See each chapter for placement in the timeline.
Relationships: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
Series: Nobody's Baby [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985159
Comments: 29
Kudos: 77





	1. Baby Steps

**Author's Note:**

> So, a few things.
> 
> 1\. I’ve been promising that Nobody’s Baby has a cliched “Happy Ending.” Even though this isn’t the END of the story, I offer this as a snippet of PROOF that things end happily. This happens somewhere WITHIN the timeline of Nobody’s Baby. I will reveal WHERE this fits into the Nobody’s Baby universe once we get there in the story.   
> 2\. I fucking love domestic fluff.   
> 3\. This also serves as an apology of sorts. The next chapter is shorter than usual and because I’m coming up on where the hole still exists in the plot, I need to keep updates slow if I want the story to continue to make sense. So here, have a DVD extra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place a few weeks after Chapter 24 of Nobody's Baby.

“Steve! Steve, hurry!”

Steve careened around the corner from the kitchen and stopped short, looking down at the floor where Peggy had laid out a blanket. Peggy was down there, on her hands and knees, smiling brightly at Amanda.

“Did she do it?” he asked desperately, slowly lowering himself.

“Not yet,” Peggy’s tone didn’t change and she didn’t move her eyes from the baby on the floor, rocking back and forth on her hands and knees. “Come on, little love, you can do it!”

Mandy turned her head and giggled at Steve, bouncing her hips back on her heels. He moved down to his own hands and knees, smiling at her. “Mama’s funny, isn’t she?”

Mandy giggled again, but pushed a little too hard and couldn’t rebalance herself, falling flat on her face on the blanket. She immediately let out a wail, eyes closing and face turning red as Steve shifted and lifted her to his chest. “Too eager, huh?”

Peggy sat, circling her wrists as she looked over to the screeching babe. “You’re fine, love.”

“Yeah,” Steve let his hand slide up and down her back as he held her close. “You’re alright.”

Mandy slowly started to calm, hiccupping into Steve’s neck and grabbing at the collar of his shirt.

“How’s dinner coming?” Peggy asked, sliding over to sit hip to hip with Steve.

He huffed a laugh out of his nose. “Jarvis is going to disown me.” He shook his head and looked down, checking on Mandy’s progress back towards her normal, happy demeanor. “The pasta should be passable but the ham…” he stopped, sniffing. “Do you…?”

Peggy held out her hands, taking Mandy from him as he scrambled to his feet and back into the kitchen. She didn’t smell the acrid, burnt smell until after he’d opened the oven, cursing loudly.

Peggy laughed, standing carefully and bouncing Mandy in her arms. “Can you say, ‘Watch your language Daddy?’ Hum?” Peggy smiled as the girl cooed up back at her. “Oh yes, you’re in such trouble with us as parents, love.”

Steve cursed again, loudly, from the kitchen.

Peggy pressed her lips together. “Language! She’s already going to pick up enough bad habits from us!”

“I know, I know!” Steve apologized, leaning back around the corner. “The pasta’s salvageable but the ham…”

Peggy rocked back and forth, Mandy reaching up and grabbing her hair tight. “How bad?”

“Burnt on the outside, raw on the inside.” He scrunched up his nose, bracing for her reaction.

She only sighed, walking over and setting Mandy down on the blanket after carefully untangling her hair from her fist. “Pasta is fine, darling.” She peaked in the kitchen and kissed him on the cheek. “Can I help?”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close and smiling with the normality of it all. “Don’t tell Jarvis?”

Peggy leaned up, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in to kiss him gently.

Steve’s eyes blinked open for just a moment to change his angle and he pulled away from her, eyes glued to Mandy. “Peg!”

She turned her head in time to see the girl rear up on her hands and knees, rock twice, then finally, finally, coordinate her arms and legs and crawl the length of the quilt before landing on her belly.

Peggy’s eyes lit up, her smile bright as she moved over, picking the baby back up and holding her high overhead. “You did it!” Steve stepped behind Peggy, wrapping his arms around her waist and making a quiet noise of excitement to keep from startling the babe.

Mandy, who had been unsure of how to feel about her accomplishment, lit up brightly at the sight of her mother and father below her, smiling ear to ear at her.

Then, she promptly vomited in Peggy’s open mouth.

With swift hands, Steve took Mandy from Peggy’s hands as Peggy crumpled in on herself, spitting the vomit back out into her hands and gagging. “Oh god.”

Steve pushed her towards the bathroom, bouncing Mandy in his arms. “Go clean up.”

Peggy gagged again, trying to keep herself from losing her own lunch. “That’s vile.”

“You’re fine.” Steve reached over, pulling a kitchen towel from the table and cleaning up Mandy’s mouth.

“I am most definitely not fine.” Peggy called as she disappeared into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Steve chuckled to himself, bouncing Mandy around the living room, tossing the towel over his shoulder. “Did you get Mama?” He tickled her under her chin, smiling brightly. “You did. Yes you did.”

Mandy laughed, and no matter what happened, it was the sweetest sound Steve had ever heard.


	2. First Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A poor Anon on Tumblr prompted me "Steve and Peggy's First Halloween together" and this is what tumbled out. They just wanted a generic Steve/Peggy and Nobody'd Baby happened. I'm sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set October 30-31, 1945 (Timezones not withstanding) and after Nobody's Baby.

Peggy reached over and grabbed Steve’s hand, holding it tight to stop his fidgeting. She leaned across the train’s bench seat and kissed him on the edge of his jaw. “What’s wrong?” She whispered, rubbing her thumb over his hand.

He didn’t take his eyes off the book he was holding in his left hand, though she didn’t think he’d been reading so much as intermittently turning pages to keep up looks. “We didn’t do this part. I don’t know how to do this part.”

She chuckled, leaning against him. “I don’t think it’s that hard.” He turned his head and looked at her and she could see the panic setting in. Perhaps the scenic train route hadn’t been the best idea as he’s been alone with his thoughts. Peggy ran her hand over the false pregnancy belly she was wearing, thinking back. “You’re playing the part well,” she whispered, keeping her lips close to his ear. “Anyone on this train would think you look like an absolutely terrified first time father.”

Steve let the book fall closed in his lap and nuzzled his face against hers. “I’m worried.”

“She’s in good hands,” Peggy whispered. Steve didn’t need to say what he was worried about, and she didn’t need to say out loud that Mandy was perfectly safe with Edwin and Ana Jarvis for the week. “Consider this our honeymoon.”

“Some honeymoon,” he mumbled, turning to look out the window. “I would have had very different ideas.”

“Oh?” Peggy didn’t move from his side, just snuggled closer.

“Like someplace warm,” he tugged on the collar of his shirt. “Maybe dancing. Or at least our own private train car.” He unlaced their fingers and shifted, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to hold her tight. “Absolutely less chance of gunfire.” He sighed, only slightly sad. “We’re missing her first Halloween.”

“She’s not old enough to go trick-or-treating,” Peggy whispered, “or to go to Howard’s party. She won’t even remember it.”

“I know,” he sighed, resting his head on hers. “I just…”

Peggy leaned up and kissed his cheek again. “Me too.”

~*~

* * *

They were both tight together in the phone booth, Peggy holding the phone between the two of them. “Oh, thank goodness, we’ve been trying for twenty minutes!” she finally exclaimed when Ana Jarvis picked up the phone.

“Worry warts, the both of you!” Ana’s laugh was good natured.

“It’s our first time away,” Steve tried to explain.

“And you called from London,” Ana’s voice carried over the phone, her humor evident, “Berlin, Prague… I’m not even going to ask where you are now.”

Peggy rolled her eyes and shifted the fake belly to try to give them more room in the cramped phone booth. “How is she?”

“Just as fine and dandy as when you called yesterday. She’s down for her nap just now.”

Steve looked at his watch, doing some quick math. “Isn’t it a little late?”

“She was up all morning strapped to Edwin’s chest as he decorated for the party tomorrow. Every time he tried to put her down she wailed horribly. Seems to she quite enjoyed putting up the decorations.”

Peggy laughed. “She hates not knowing what’s going on.”

“And don’t you two have something more important to be focused on?” Ana sighed. “I know it’s your very first mission together since all this, but she’s _fine._ Go enjoy doing what you do best.”

~*~

* * *

Peggy snuggled into Steve’s side in the small roadside motel. It wasn’t much, but since the war there wasn’t much anywhere.

“One more time,” she whispered, her hands running over his bare chest.

“We spend the morning in town: breakfast at the café, head over to the memorial by the bay where we rendezvous with Dugan and Pinkerton, then window shopping until noon.” He sighed, letting his hand run over the soft skid he hadn’t had access to on her side since she’d put the fake pregnancy belly on three days ago. “The doctor’s appointment is at 1. We go in, discuss the fake test results, and see what he says. If he offers you the treatment, we call the boys in and it’s over.”

Peggy laughed, rolling over and presenting Steve with her back. He spooned her without hesitating, his wide hand falling to her flat stomach. “You say that like it’s as easy as having breakfast.”

He kissed her shoulder, his fingers gently moving over her belly. “It should be. He’s a peon. A pawn. Whatever this Red Room program is, they’re using him to supply them with desperate mothers.”

Peggy wiggled back, looking to him over her shoulder. “I still think I should go in alone.”

He pulled her tight, kissing her nose before she turned away again. “I’m not letting you anywhere near that place without me there.”

“And that’s where your credibility on _easy_ falls apart, Mr. Rogers.” She laughed, lacing her fingers through his.

“Better to be safe than sorry, Mrs. Rogers.” His breath was warm on her neck. “First time out since we became a family. I just don’t want any chance of anything going wrong.”

She pulled his hand up to her lips, kissing it gently. “It won’t.”

~*~

* * *

Edwin Jarvis bounded over to reach the telephone, the ringing barely audible above the din of the party. “Stark Residence!”

“Edwin!” Steve’s voice came over the phone. “How are you?”

“While I am fine,” the man smiled into the phone, “I’m sure you’ll be excited to hear the Mandy is doing exceedingly well.”

“Are we that transparent?” Peggy’s voice asked, crackling through the long distance line.

He laughed, smiling as he peaked out to see Ana dressed as a flapper bouncing Mandy about in the living room to the music amongst the other guests. While Mandy didn’t have an actual costume, Ana had wrapped her in bandages over her dress, giving her the appearance of a mummy. “You’ve only called at least once a day.”

“It’s not that we don’t trust you…” Steve started.

“Oh, I quite understand.” Jarvis was warm and calm over the phone. “Should it have been myself and Ana leaving our darling for the first time I’d be a most nervous wreck. Should I take it from the timing of your call that things have gone well?”

“Dugan and Pinky have the doctor in custody and we’re getting on a plane back to London in a few minutes.” Peggy said happily.

“We should be back in New York by tomorrow night,” Steve supplied.

“Delightful. I’ll cook a roast.” Jarvis pulled a notebook from his pocket and started a short list for tomorrow. “Just call once you’ve landed and I’ll be at the airport in short order.”

“How’s she sleeping with all that ruckus?” Steve asked. “I’d hate it if she kept you up all night.”

“Sleeping?” Edwin choked out, looking out at the make-shift dance floor where Mandy was cooing and laughing happily in Ana’s arms.

Peggy’s voice came through loud and clear. “Yes, sleeping. Are we breaking up?”

Jarvis panicked. He didn’t want to lie, but he knew very well that not only did Mandy not want to go to sleep, but that he’d have a hell of a time prying her from Ana’s arms to get back on her nighttime schedule. “Sleeping? Yes, she slept very well last night.”

“No, tonight. Right now?” Steve asked.

“Oh, you’re- you’re breaking up. Can you still hear me?” Jarvis bounced his hand over the microphone of the handset. “Hello?” He asked, his poor acting hopefully covered up by the sound of the party in the background, his face panicked as he tried to avoid lying outright.

“Mr. Jarvis?” Peggy asked, her voice coming through crystal clear now.

“Ah, I think I’ve lost you!” Jarvis lied, cringing. “But if you can still hear me, all is well. See you tomorrow!” Jarvis hung up the phone like it had burned him, holding his hands tight together and looking at the offending thing for a long moment.

“Edwin?” Ana asked, out of breath and holding Mandy tight in her arms as she joined him in the small alcove. “Everything all right?”

Jarvis smiled at Mandy as she tried to unwind herself from the cloth bandages, amused at how they wrapped around her. “Yes, yes. All is well.”

“Who was that?” Ana asked, handing Mandy over to Edwin.

He took the girl, grateful for something to do. He set about righting her costume as Ana fixed the feather in her hair. “Steve and Peggy.”

“Such worriers.” She smiled, reaching out to tickle Mandy. “Though I understand. I don’t think I could leave this peach alone, either.”

Jarvis looked at her, concerned. “They’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Good,” Ana didn’t let up ticking the girl, smiling brightly at her laughter.

“And they’ll notice that her sleeping schedule is off,” Jarvis supplied, finding it hard to be cross with a laughing baby in his arms.

“One day,” Ana murmured, not wanting to repeat the conversation they’d had all day already. “It’s her first Halloween.”

“And we were explicitly told to get her to bed on time. And that she was not allowed to attend one of Mr. Stark’s parties. Ever.” Jarvis gave up, smiling a little and making the admonishment a little less powerful.

“Oh, you and I know both know very well the orgies don’t start until well after eleven.” Ana’s dry humor wasn’t lost on him. “She’ll be long in bed by then.” Ana lifted Mandy from his arms. “And since I believe you are still on trick-or-treater duty at the door, Mandy and I will go back to dancing!”

Jarvis shook his head, unable to hide his grin. “You shall be the actual death of me, Ana.”

She just shrugged her shoulder and winked. “Oh, but what a wonderful way to go.” She held Mandy up, helping the baby to wave. “Say bye-bye Uncle Edwin. We’re going to have fun now. Bye bye!”

Edwin shook his head, watching them disappear into the mansion as the doorbell rang yet again. He grabbed the bowl of candy by the door, smiling.

He was somehow becoming the fun Uncle, and it seemed he didn’t mind one bit.


End file.
